Rarely Seen Shark Filmed Near Underwater Volcano

Rarely Seen Shark Filmed Near Underwater Volcano

July 8, 2015 - Ocean engineer and National Geographic Explorer
Brennan Phillips and his team surveyed underwater volcano Kavachi,
located near the Solomon Islands. They encountered a surprising amount
of sea life, including the rarely filmed Pacific sleeper shark. Phillips believes the high-definition images of this elusive shark represent only the third—and maybe the best—video of the shark ever made.

Inside these calderas it’s an extreme and very dangerous
environment. Human beings can’t go in
there.

SOT: “Three, two, one.
Off it goes!”

So each day we did these drop-cam deployments. It was
like unwrapping a new present. You never know what you’re going to find,
especially when you’re working deep underwater. The deeper you go, the stranger
it gets.

So we’re in the Solomon Islands on a small island in the
Western Province to study a submarine volcano called Kavachi. No one has ever
studied it up close. So to me as a scientist and aspiring explorer, that’s ripe
for the picking.

So we’re dropping this camera down primarily to take a
closer look at the volcano. And to see interesting biology is just a bonus.

SOT: “Whoah, Man!”

“Nice”

“You
see that it was worth it! We should’ve gone straight here.”

[Laughter]

“He
looks really different.”

“Wow!”

When we saw the sleeper shark video, we flipped out! I took
a few screen grabs and I sent them off to a few ichthyologists, people who
would know better than I, and they all looked at it and agreed it was mostly
likely a Pacific sleeper shark.

There’s very little known about them. And the more I
learned, the more I realized how much a significant find it was to see one on
camera. As far as I know as this point, it’s only the third time it’s been
captured on video and it’s certainly the best video ever of one.

So the idea of being large animals like sharks hanging out
and living inside the caldera of this volcano conflicts with what we know about
Kavachi. I mean, it’s hostile when it’s calm. You know, the water’s hot, it’s
acidic. It’s hostile enough. And so to see large animals like this that living,
it’s very exciting. And exploring the deep sea is like that. That’s the best
part.

Rarely Seen Shark Filmed Near Underwater Volcano

July 8, 2015 - Ocean engineer and National Geographic Explorer
Brennan Phillips and his team surveyed underwater volcano Kavachi,
located near the Solomon Islands. They encountered a surprising amount
of sea life, including the rarely filmed Pacific sleeper shark. Phillips believes the high-definition images of this elusive shark represent only the third—and maybe the best—video of the shark ever made.